Katherine's fear of raccoons is growing, and we haven't even seen one in over two weeks.
Tonight, I left the shade to one window in the girls' room open, and the window slightly open due to the fact that it is a very warm night.
Katherine absolutely refused to lay down in her bed until I shut the window and lowered the shades. All she kept repeating was, "No raccoots. No raccoots."
I'm wondering if I should buy a stuffed animal raccoon, or if that would just be flinging fuel on the fire.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Tomorrow we learn to do the "Hustle"
Thanks to me, when Katherine holds the "Little People" construction worker, shown here:
Is it child abuse to expose my kids to 70's disco-pop?
Feel free to sing along with us:
YMCA - By The Village People
Is it child abuse to expose my kids to 70's disco-pop?
Feel free to sing along with us:
YMCA - By The Village People
Daddy's Disco Partner.
(Click on photo for larger view)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Pet's Welcome -- Kids, Not So Much.
Yesterday I picked the girls up from daycare a little early, and remembered that we needed to buy more cat food for our cat, Tabby.
I thought the girls would have a good time coming to PetSmart with me and seeing the birds, fishes, etc. After all, what kid doesn't like looking at pets in a pet store?
Unfortunately, I forgot about PetSmart's motto, "Pet's Welcome".
As we were waiting in line to buy the cat food, with me holding a 20-pound bag of "Meow Mix", a woman walked up behind us with a very large dog.
The girls screamed bloody murder.
They tried to climb up my leg as if their lives depended on it. And in their minds, their lives probably did depend on it.
What was most amusing was the reaction of the other customers, most of them carrying/walking their pets (mostly dogs) with them.
They looked annoyed, as if my girls had some nerve screaming over their dogs!
I thought the girls would have a good time coming to PetSmart with me and seeing the birds, fishes, etc. After all, what kid doesn't like looking at pets in a pet store?
Unfortunately, I forgot about PetSmart's motto, "Pet's Welcome".
As we were waiting in line to buy the cat food, with me holding a 20-pound bag of "Meow Mix", a woman walked up behind us with a very large dog.
The girls screamed bloody murder.
They tried to climb up my leg as if their lives depended on it. And in their minds, their lives probably did depend on it.
What was most amusing was the reaction of the other customers, most of them carrying/walking their pets (mostly dogs) with them.
They looked annoyed, as if my girls had some nerve screaming over their dogs!
Kids not welcome.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Drama Queens
Not even two years old yet, and already the girls are budding drama stars.
Here's how it all went down at the Lim Household tonight.
Mommy is taking a shower, and Daddy is watching the NBA playoffs with the girls.
Suddenly, Caroline screams out. Daddy looks down, and Katherine is biting Caroline's finger (We've had a full-on biting epidemic in the past week -- hopefully it will be a short-lived phase).
After Daddy gets Katherine to unhinge her jaw off Caroline's finger, Daddy checks the finger (no blood, just tiny bite marks, thank goodness).
Daddy gives a stern talking to Katherine that goes something like this: "Katherine, no biting! No! Daddy is very disappointed in you! Daddy does not like biting. No biting your sister."
Katherine just looks at me. No crying. No laughing. Just looks me in the eye and takes her lecture calmly.
At my request, Katherine gives a lukewarm hug and kiss to her sister at my request. Caroline, still crying bloody murder, take the opportunity to repeat my lecture through her sobs, "No! No bite! NO!"
I get Caroline an "ow-y" ice pack for her finger. Katherine follows us into the kitchen, and asks for some ice to play with, too.
I tell Katherine, "No ice for you. No biting your sister. No ice."
Katherine just looks up at me, then walks to the cabinet where her school lunch bags are kept.
She grabs all four lunch bags in the cabinet, heads to the door leading to our garage, looks over at me, and states, "Bye-bye, Daddy!"
JEEZ!! -- I thought I had until at least five years old for the "I'm running away from home" bit!!!
(Unfortunately for Katherine, the bluff of running away from home works better if you are actually able to unlock and open a door.)
The dramatics was not confined to Katherine, however.
Twenty minutes after the biting incident, Caroline, Katherine and I are all sitting on the couch once more, drinking milk from our sippy cups.
(Okay, I'm drinking water, but you get the idea).
Caroline hasn't cried for over 15 minutes.
Until . . . .
Mommy comes out of the bedroom from her shower.
Suddenly, Caroline is screaming "Owwwwwiiieeeee!" at the top of her lungs, holding up her injured finger for Mommy to see.
I tell Caronline, "Oh, you're just faking so Mommy will pick you up."
Caroline, from the safe cradle of Mommy's arm, shoots me a look that I swear says, "Quiet, you. It was because you were watching the stupid TV that I got bit on the finger in the first place!"
About 20 minutes later, Mommy is busy getting things ready for bed, and Caroline decides she wants some more attention.
She runs up to Mommy holding up her finger, screaming, "Owwwwwwieee!"
This time, however, Mommy is onto the scam.
"Caroline, you're holding up the wrong finger. You got bit on your right finger. That's your left finger."
At that point Caroline at least had the dignity to put her hand down and walk away!
Here's how it all went down at the Lim Household tonight.
Mommy is taking a shower, and Daddy is watching the NBA playoffs with the girls.
Suddenly, Caroline screams out. Daddy looks down, and Katherine is biting Caroline's finger (We've had a full-on biting epidemic in the past week -- hopefully it will be a short-lived phase).
After Daddy gets Katherine to unhinge her jaw off Caroline's finger, Daddy checks the finger (no blood, just tiny bite marks, thank goodness).
Daddy gives a stern talking to Katherine that goes something like this: "Katherine, no biting! No! Daddy is very disappointed in you! Daddy does not like biting. No biting your sister."
Katherine just looks at me. No crying. No laughing. Just looks me in the eye and takes her lecture calmly.
At my request, Katherine gives a lukewarm hug and kiss to her sister at my request. Caroline, still crying bloody murder, take the opportunity to repeat my lecture through her sobs, "No! No bite! NO!"
I get Caroline an "ow-y" ice pack for her finger. Katherine follows us into the kitchen, and asks for some ice to play with, too.
I tell Katherine, "No ice for you. No biting your sister. No ice."
Katherine just looks up at me, then walks to the cabinet where her school lunch bags are kept.
She grabs all four lunch bags in the cabinet, heads to the door leading to our garage, looks over at me, and states, "Bye-bye, Daddy!"
JEEZ!! -- I thought I had until at least five years old for the "I'm running away from home" bit!!!
(Unfortunately for Katherine, the bluff of running away from home works better if you are actually able to unlock and open a door.)
********************
The dramatics was not confined to Katherine, however.
Twenty minutes after the biting incident, Caroline, Katherine and I are all sitting on the couch once more, drinking milk from our sippy cups.
(Okay, I'm drinking water, but you get the idea).
Caroline hasn't cried for over 15 minutes.
Until . . . .
Mommy comes out of the bedroom from her shower.
Suddenly, Caroline is screaming "Owwwwwiiieeeee!" at the top of her lungs, holding up her injured finger for Mommy to see.
I tell Caronline, "Oh, you're just faking so Mommy will pick you up."
Caroline, from the safe cradle of Mommy's arm, shoots me a look that I swear says, "Quiet, you. It was because you were watching the stupid TV that I got bit on the finger in the first place!"
About 20 minutes later, Mommy is busy getting things ready for bed, and Caroline decides she wants some more attention.
She runs up to Mommy holding up her finger, screaming, "Owwwwwwieee!"
This time, however, Mommy is onto the scam.
"Caroline, you're holding up the wrong finger. You got bit on your right finger. That's your left finger."
At that point Caroline at least had the dignity to put her hand down and walk away!
********************
Here are some photos of our girls from earlier in the day, before all the drama. We got this playhouse free from another family whose kids have outgrown it:
Katherine in the new playhouse.
(Click on photo for larger view)
Caroline checking out the windows.
(Click on photo for larger view)
Friday, May 04, 2007
No Raccoons Served Here
We have a new bedtime ritual in the Lim household.
Ever since we moved back into our house following our remodel over a year ago, a family of three raccoons moved back in with us. They come almost every night to our back patio door and feed off any scraps of food which our cat Tabby has left in her bowl.
Thanks to our free nightly buffet, the raccoons are now pretty good-sized.
Caroline and Katherine never really paid much attention to them -- until about a month ago.
About four weeks ago the girls were suddenly VERY aware of our nightly visitors, and VERY scared of them.
I can't say I blame them. The raccoons standing on their hind legs are taller than the girls are.
The site of a raccoon coming to our back patio door (and triggering our motion sensor lights) will send both girls scrambling up our legs and into our arms no matter where we are in the house.
So now, before the girls go to bed, they take us by the hand, and lead us around to both the patio door and the side door. They look out the doors, peer into the darkness, then turn to us and very solemnly state:
"No raccoots."
If the raccoons just happen to actually be at the doors when the girls do their rounds, well . . . let's just say bedtime is postponed for a little bit!
Ever since we moved back into our house following our remodel over a year ago, a family of three raccoons moved back in with us. They come almost every night to our back patio door and feed off any scraps of food which our cat Tabby has left in her bowl.
Thanks to our free nightly buffet, the raccoons are now pretty good-sized.
Caroline and Katherine never really paid much attention to them -- until about a month ago.
About four weeks ago the girls were suddenly VERY aware of our nightly visitors, and VERY scared of them.
I can't say I blame them. The raccoons standing on their hind legs are taller than the girls are.
The site of a raccoon coming to our back patio door (and triggering our motion sensor lights) will send both girls scrambling up our legs and into our arms no matter where we are in the house.
So now, before the girls go to bed, they take us by the hand, and lead us around to both the patio door and the side door. They look out the doors, peer into the darkness, then turn to us and very solemnly state:
"No raccoots."
The kitchen is closed.
(Click on photo for larger view)
If the raccoons just happen to actually be at the doors when the girls do their rounds, well . . . let's just say bedtime is postponed for a little bit!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The Scoop on Poop * Pea Juice & Vienna Sausages * Two Plus Two Equals Trouble! * Contest of the Day.
Today I'm hitting four different subjects. Why? One, because I've been behind on posting updates on the girls. But more importantly, because the girls have fallen asleep early, giving me more time on the computer!
THE SCOOP ON POOP
Tonight I am the proudest Dad in the world.
After only TWO days of potty training, Katherine took her first poop into her toilet.
That's right -- TWO days of training, and my girl has got the hang of it.
The secret that Mom learned was to read the girls a book as they sat on their thrones.
After all, who doesn't like a good read to help move things along?
PEA JUICE AND VIENNA SAUSAGES
Just a short four weeks ago, we had perfect eaters. Caroline and Katherine would happily eat just about anything you put in front of them. At the very least, they were open to trying things.
Then in just the past four weeks, the girls, Katherine especially, have become very picky eaters.
Katherine learned to say, "Don't want!" very forcefully, and uses those two words to great effect during mealtimes.
Two items the girls like right now, however, are two items I never really thought about giving the girls.
First, the girls love to drink the juice from a can of peas. Yep, you heard right, the friggin' juice from a can of peas.
Second, the girls love Vienna sausages, or as my friend calls them: chemical sausages.
Two months ago I would have been opposed to giving my girls tightly compressed pork, chicken, and beef fillings. But that was when the girls were still happily eating baked chicken breasts, or ground turkey over rice. Nowadays, when I'm worried about the girls having had zero protein for the last two days, if they want Vienna sausages, then by golly, they get Vienna sausages!
TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS TROUBLE!
Question: What do you get when you have twins nearing the age of 2?
Answer: Two very harried and harrassed parents!
The girls have officially entered what is commonly known as "The Terrible Twos."
Some common vocabulary heard around the Lim household from Katherine and Caroline nowadays:
CONTEST OF THE DAY
In an effort to generate more comments to this blog site, I'm initiating a "Contest of the Day".
You see, I know you are all out there, because I have a counter attached to this site, and so I know that a good number of people come to this site throughout the day. Sure, I'm no Sarah and the Goon Squad, but there are a fairly decent number of regular visitors to this site, and I know who you are! Based just on the comments from this site, if I didn't have a counter logging the number of visitors, I would have long ago abandoned this site as one lonely father's empty musings on the internet.
So here is the contest. I will post a photo with a question. You answer the question right, you get a prize. Simple enough, no?
So here's the photo, and the person who answers the accompanying question correctly gets something out of our garage (i.e., a tube of bathroom caulk) or kitchen pantry (probably not a can of peas, we need the juice):
THE SCOOP ON POOP
Tonight I am the proudest Dad in the world.
After only TWO days of potty training, Katherine took her first poop into her toilet.
That's right -- TWO days of training, and my girl has got the hang of it.
The secret that Mom learned was to read the girls a book as they sat on their thrones.
After all, who doesn't like a good read to help move things along?
Caroline & Katherine discovering the comfiest seats in the house.
(Click on photo for larger view)
PEA JUICE AND VIENNA SAUSAGES
Just a short four weeks ago, we had perfect eaters. Caroline and Katherine would happily eat just about anything you put in front of them. At the very least, they were open to trying things.
Then in just the past four weeks, the girls, Katherine especially, have become very picky eaters.
Katherine learned to say, "Don't want!" very forcefully, and uses those two words to great effect during mealtimes.
Two items the girls like right now, however, are two items I never really thought about giving the girls.
First, the girls love to drink the juice from a can of peas. Yep, you heard right, the friggin' juice from a can of peas.
Second, the girls love Vienna sausages, or as my friend calls them: chemical sausages.
Two months ago I would have been opposed to giving my girls tightly compressed pork, chicken, and beef fillings. But that was when the girls were still happily eating baked chicken breasts, or ground turkey over rice. Nowadays, when I'm worried about the girls having had zero protein for the last two days, if they want Vienna sausages, then by golly, they get Vienna sausages!
Mmmm . . . chemically compressed meat!
(Click on photo for larger view)
TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS TROUBLE!
Question: What do you get when you have twins nearing the age of 2?
Answer: Two very harried and harrassed parents!
The girls have officially entered what is commonly known as "The Terrible Twos."
Some common vocabulary heard around the Lim household from Katherine and Caroline nowadays:
- "Don't want!"
- "Mine!"
- "Noooooooooooooo!" (Usually followed by full face-down body-flop onto the floor)
Some common vocabulary heard around the Lim household from Mom and Dad nowadays:
- Stop pulling your sister's hair!
- Don't stand on that chair!
- No hitting / biting / kicking your sister!
- Don't throw that cup / plate / fork / chair / chainsaw!
- (Just kidding about the chainsaw. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention!)
- Get up off the store floor!
- Put that diaper back on!
Yet for all their shennanigans, the girls are still a lot of fun, especially when they look like this:
Having fun inbetween temper tantrums!
(Click on photo for larger view)
CONTEST OF THE DAY
In an effort to generate more comments to this blog site, I'm initiating a "Contest of the Day".
You see, I know you are all out there, because I have a counter attached to this site, and so I know that a good number of people come to this site throughout the day. Sure, I'm no Sarah and the Goon Squad, but there are a fairly decent number of regular visitors to this site, and I know who you are! Based just on the comments from this site, if I didn't have a counter logging the number of visitors, I would have long ago abandoned this site as one lonely father's empty musings on the internet.
So here is the contest. I will post a photo with a question. You answer the question right, you get a prize. Simple enough, no?
So here's the photo, and the person who answers the accompanying question correctly gets something out of our garage (i.e., a tube of bathroom caulk) or kitchen pantry (probably not a can of peas, we need the juice):
Question: Something has scared Caroline at the Union Street Fair. What scared her?
(Click on photo for larger view)
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